I think it was before its third season, in 2010, that I decided to check out AMC’s Breaking Bad. So, needless to say, I had some catching up to do. I had seen promos for the show and had heard of Bryan Cranston’s Emmy wins for his lead role in the series, but it was just one of those shows on my “list of shows to catch up on and start watching”.

AMC was broadcasting repeat episodes from the first two seasons and I caught the pilot one day. Thanks to Netflix, I was able to catch up on the remaining episodes and was soon awaiting the premiere of the next season. I think the draw of the show was, not only the acting and the crazy story lines, but the look of the show as well. I felt that I was watching a “mini-movie”. A movie with action, suspense & drama…but broadcast in one hour increments. The suspense of waiting for the next week’s episode is what great television is supposed to be about.

In 2009, master of horror author Stephen King wrote an article for Entertainment Weekly, explaining his love for Breaking Bad and in describing a scene from season two said:

When the fourth season finale ended with Gustavo Fring walking out of Hector Salamanca’s room with (literally) half of his face blown off…I was speechless. My feelings that I had found the right show for me were confirmed!!!

Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring

Of course, I was also thinking, “They killed Buggin’ Out!”

Giancarlo Esposito as Buggin’ Out in Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” (1989)

Being on AMC and having seasons that are, not only shorter than network television but also, scheduled to start and end in different months, only added to the suspense and anticipation of the next season. Well…I don’t have to wait much longer. The scheduled last season of Breaking Bad is set to begin July 15th and will (naturally) be split into two 8 episode mini-seasons, concluding in 2013.

There has been talk of a future feature film, but until then, I’ll just enjoy this last upcoming season and the situations that the writers will put Walt, Jesse, Skylar, Hank and the others in…for now.

Okay, so I’ve recently discovered a new guilty pleasure. As I was finishing up my Tipsy Tech exam in Austin on Wednesday night, December 6th, Discovery Channel was premiering a new show.

Moonshine is described by dictionary.com as: a smuggled or illicitly distilled liquor, especially corn liquor illicitly distilled chiefly in rural areas of the southern U.S.

I stumbled upon this show just this week as I was searching for something to watch on television one evening. Tired of surfing, I stopped on the Discovery Channel and decided to watch the uplifting documentary “2012 Apocalypse”. During one of the commercial breaks I was treated to this promo:

Anyone interested in how spirits were once (and apparently still are) made, might want to check out this show. It’s kind of a cross between a Do It Yourself show and COPS. Any show featuring characters with names like Tickle and Popcorn deserves at least a look.

As funny as I think some of the characters are, it’s important to mention that just today a story came out of India reporting on the very serious and dangerous side of moonshine.

Moonshiners on Discovery Channel is now in its second week, with three episodes already having aired. You can watch full episodes of Moonshiners here.

According to AMC, the show’s second season episodes have been breaking records for a drama series on basic cable capturing 7.3 million viewers for their season premiere, capturing more viewers than any other show’s telecast in basic cable history!

The following is a recap of Episode 2: “BLOODLETTING”

After the end of the premiere episode and the cliff-hanger of Carl being shot, I couldn’t wait for this next episode! Makes me realize that a good drama series’ storyline makes you wish that each episode was longer than one hour.

The episode starts off with a flashback of the day that sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes is shot (season 1). His partner Shane drives up to the school where Rick’s wife Lori is about to pick up their son Carl. She is talking to another mother about her and Rick’s problems, just as Rick was talking to Shane in his car in the first episode of the series. Shane seems genuinely concerned but I kind of sensed that it was more focused on Lori than Rick. This makes me wonder about these two…was there something going on between Shane & Lori before the zombie apocalypse? Maybe. Carl gets out of school and Lori hugs him tight as he sobs after hearing about his dad.

Cut to: Rick carrying Carl, bleeding and dying from a gunshot wound, through a field. They are followed by Shane and the man that shot Carl, Otis.

Otis

* Otis is played by a great character actor, Pruitt Taylor Vince…who played

Malcolm Rivers in Identity

Otis is taking them to the house where he is staying. The house is on a farm owned by Hershel Greene. Otis and his girlfriend are staying with Hershel, Hershel’s wife and daughter, Maggie. They take them in and begin trying to treat Carl’s gunshot wound.

Hershel realizes that there are six bullet fragments inside Carl and attempts to get them out…Carl wakes up! The kid is screaming with a strange man’s fingers digging around inside his abdomen and eventually he passes out.

Hershel attempting to remove bullet fragments from Carl

Rick and Carl are the same blood type, so Rick readily donates blood to help his son, who has lost a lot a blood. Hershel gets Carl stabilized but informs Rick that in order to get to the remaining 5 bullet fragments, he needs to put Carl under and operate…but he doesn’t have the equipment to do so.

Otis realizes that there is probably medical equipment at the nearby high school, which was set up for a time as a FEMA shelter. Rick wants to go with Otis to the high school, but Shane can’t let him leave Carl’s side. The kid not only needs more blood transfusions, he may take a turn for the worst and die with Rick not being there. Rick agrees to stay and sends Otis and Shane to get the medical equipment that Hershel needs to save his son’s life.

As they are leaving, Rick gives Otis his handgun for protection. Of course, Otis still has the gun that he shot Rick’s son with…for protection.

Rick needs help in getting word to Lori and bringing her to the farmhouse. No problem…Maggie’s got a horse! Good thing too, because meanwhile Andrea finds herself oblivious to a zombie in the woods until it’s almost too late.

Zombie sneaking up on Andrea in the woods

Maggie to the rescue!

Most of the others, including Rick’s wife Lori, are still in the woods searching for Sophia. Oh, yeah….she’s still lost! Andrea is about to be a zombie’s dinner when Maggie rides up and uses the zombie’s head for batting practice. She finds Lori, holsters her Louisville Slugger and takes off with Lori towards the farmhouse.

Meanwhile…Dale and T-Dog are still on the highway waiting outside the Winnebago. During their conversation, Dale begins to realize that something is wrong with T-Dog…T-Dog begins talking to Dale about how he feels that the “rednecks” that they are traveling with view he and Dale as the weakest of the group and have purposefully left them behind. He even suggests that they get in the Winnebago and take off!

Dale and T-Dog

Dale checks his forehead and then his cut. I KNEW IT!!! T-Dog’s injury (cut) in the season premiere seemed too severe to be okay with just a little tape job. (Thank you writers!) T-Dog has developed a severe infection from slashing his forearm on a ragged piece of metal and has developed a fever and needs antibiotics. I guess this is the cause of T-Dog’s crazy-talk.

Soon, Darryl, Glenn, Andrea & Carol return to the highway and Darryl offers T-Dog some antibiotics from his stash of his brother Merle’s drugs. Apparently Darryl’s brother, Merle, needed these drugs for his frequent bouts of “the clap”.

Lori makes it to the farmhouse and takes control of the situation…not only convincing Rick to stay put when Rick wants to head off to find Shane, Otis and the medical equipment, but she begins grilling Hershel about his medical background. Which I guess is a good thing because we find out that Hershel is actually a vet…no not war veteran, Lori….a veterinarian! Well, in the days of the zombie apocalypse, I guess an animal doc is better than no doc at all.

Otis and Shane finally make it to the high school as night approaches….

Except there’s one little problem….well, if you call a pep-rally of flesh-eating zombies in the parking lot a little problem…

They use the old “throw-a-flare-distract the zombies” trick and are able to get into the medical trailer. The problem is that a zombie’s attention span is not very long, so when Otis and Shane have the medical equipment that they need and go back outside….the zombies are done playing “Look at The Pretty Little Light” and are again searching for food. The zombies chase Shane and Otis to the high school, where Shane shoots out a glass door to get inside a locked foyer, pulling a flimsy fence closed and locking it with a just-as-flimsy bolt.

* I could be wrong, but in watching the promos for the next episode, I see a lot of Shane…but little of Otis. Does Otis sacrifice himself so that Shane can get the medical equipment back to save Carl’s life? Ya think?

Now that Breaking Bad has started their break, I’m pleased that a guilty pleasure of mine is back: The Walking Dead.

Season 2 started last night. The draw of this show for me, besides the George Romero-esque “band of survivors against zombies” story line, is that these characters are in some real drama. Maybe that’s why it’s been nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe & Writers’ Guild of America award. Take the zombies out of it ( no, don’t… but if you did), and it still might be a great show about survivors of some type of apocalypse. I just hope that I continue to enjoy this show now that they’ve axed the show runner/developer, Frank Darabont. This post will be a recap of the premiere episode, “What Lies Ahead”.

Here we go:

The group of survivors have left the rubble of the CDC and decide to hit the road. However, while driving theycome across a traffic jam of cars. It’s not really clear what all these people in these cars have died from….suicide, maybe some kind of chemical agent used by the government early on to try to kill the zombies, or just plain FEAR. As they are winding through the parking lot of cars on the highway, Dale’s Winnebago blows a hose. Naturally. Leaving them stranded…but wait, with all the cars on the highway, they are practically in an Auto Zone parking lot.

The gang must now begin scavenging for things in the cars on the highway: car parts, water, and in Carol’s case: a new outfit. Out of practically nowhere, a herd of zombies stagger up. I know the show has called the zombies, “walkers”, but a LOT of them RUN, so I’m calling them zombies! The group have no choice but to quickly hide under the cars.

Andrea is in the Winnebago (cleaning her gun) and hides in the bathroom when she notices the zombie herd passing by. A rather smart (or hungry) zombie enters the Winnebago, possibly wanting to raid the refrigerator. He finds nothing worth eating and is about to leave. Andrea, now hiding in the bathroom, has to remain quiet for fifteen more seconds and she’ll be in the clear…she makes it to ten, and then almost drops her dismantled gun that she has been cleaning, making a noise. The zombie hears her and turns around as if to say, “I thought someone might be in that bathroom”.

The zombie tries to go into the bathroom and Andrea FREAKS OUT as she has her feet braced against the door, trying to keep it closed. She should have just said, “Um, someone’s in here!” Dale is hiding on the roof of his Winnebago and hands Andrea a screwdriver through the skylight.

The zombie, who obviously can not hold it any longer, breaks into the bathroom…Andrea screams…then stabs the zombie in the eye with the screwdriver. AWESOME!

Andrea must have used the abandoned water delivery truck in the road to take a shower, because she is very clean in the next scene.

T-Dog cuts his arm on a ragged piece of metal on one of the cars while he is hiding and loses A LOT of blood, looks very close to dying, but is saved when Darryl hides him under a dead body as the zombies pass by. Definitely not something his brother, Merle, would do!

Later T-Dog has a nice, neat bandage on and doesn’t seem the worse for wear. The group think they’re in the clear but as they begin to emerge from under the cars a couple of zombies who have, apparently, been bringing up the rear, stagger up. One of them sees Carol’s daughter Sophia and goes after her.

Sophia runs off into the woods to escape the zombies and Rick runs after her. He helps her escape, but loses track of her after leading the zombies on a wild-brains-chase as a decoy so Sophia can get away. The group now have to find Sophia.

The group comes across a tent. Inside is a person who has obviously “checked out”, with a pistol by his side, and the bottom half of his face blown off. He wears a button that reads “There’s No Excuse For Domestic Violence”. Huh? Is this to hint at to why Sophia’s creepy (now dead) dad Ed Peletier “deserved” to die? Maybe.

The group splits up and Darryl and Rick come across a zombie. They kill him and notice that he has recently eaten. Apparently the zombie forgot to use a toothpick or brush his teeth after feasting and has some kind of food stuck in his teeth. Is it Sophia? Only one way to find out! They cut him open to make sure that Sophia is not inside.

Don’t really know what this thing has eaten but it doesn’t seem to be Sophia. So she’s apparently still lost. How far did she run? How big are these “woods”? She’s obviously a kid from the city, because we country kids knew how to explore woods and still be home by dark.

Carl, Rick’s son, asks if he can help search for Sophia by going back out into the woods with Rick and Shane. They head out and as I glance at the clock, I realize that the episode is almost over. Are they going to find Sophia? What’s up?

Well…Carl is enamored by a deer in the woods and tries to approach it,

Oh, wait, that’s not it….

…only to be shot along with the deer! The End! WoW! WHAT!?!! I appreciate the fact that this episode (and last season as well) has left me with questions to be answered. What happened to Morgan & his son? Is Morgan’s dead zombie wife still staggering up to that house? What did Jenner whisper to Rick at the CDC? WHO SHOT CARL?!?!